News Review – 31 March 2017
While in the United States, Congress voted to allow states to restrict funding for Planned Parenthood, several African nations are reconsidering their laws and policies about access to Family Planning and abortion to avoid negative health consequences of the population boom and unsafe procedures.
The reaction in the US was predictably split, while some are calling for a more nuanced discussion, including for “Pro-Life” groups to allow access to contraception.
In the African context, the economic and security benefits of family planning were discussed. In Namibia, the number of unsafe abortions hit more than 7,000, leading to the health minister to call for a reconsideration of the country’s law. In Uganda, midwives are overstretched and the older generation was called upon to take more responsibility for educating children about sexuality.
Exciting news on the technology front, written about across the general, medical and scientific press, concerned a new “female reproductive system on a chip”, which can help remote tests and diagnoses.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has questioned whether medical research is being disseminated quickly enough, and has initiated a program to create open access to any findings it has funded. The WHO issued a checklist for monitoring contraception information and services, based on human rights standards. Global Health: Science and Practice published a raft of relevant articles on family planning in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Angola and Ghana.
Complete News Review References:
General
Pence casts deciding vote in effort to roll back Obama-era abortion rules, Boston Globe, 30 Mar 2017
Scientists Create Tiny Female Reproductive System for More Accurate Medical Tests, Here and Now (NPR), 30 Mar 2017
When it comes to reproductive rights, both pro-choice and pro-life arguments must evolve, Huffington Post, 30 Mar 2017
Don’t like abortion? Make sure no Kentuckian lacks access to family planning, Lexington Herald Examiner, 30 Mar 2017
Women’s Reproductive Rights Just Took Three Major Losses, attn, 30 Mar 2017
Favoriser La Croissance Economique, L’equite Et La Resilience En Afrique Subsaharienne: Le Role De La Planification Familiale, PRB, 30 Mar 2017
What Are “Abortion-Out-Loud” Bills? Advocates Have A Compelling New Strategy To Secure Access, Bustle, 29 Mar 2017
There’s No Economic Justice Without Abortion Rights, Cosmopolitan, 29 Mar 2017
Looming Health Care Shortages Spark Fears of More Maternal Deaths in Africa, VOA, 29 Mar 2017
Q&A: UNFPA West Africa director on the security benefits of family planning, Devex , 27 Mar 2017
A sustainable global population in 2100 may depend on girls’ education, Impact Alpha, 27 Mar 2017
Planned Parenthood made two videos to show you how abortion actually works, Daily Kos, 24 Mar 2017
This is what happens when maternity care isn’t an “essential” health benefit, Vox, 24 Mar 2017
The crisis of reproductive care in humanitarian settings, IPAS, 22 Mar 2017
Opinion: Impacts of the Global Gag Rule, GBC Health, March 2017
We Demand More! A Sexuality Education Advocacy Handbook for Young People, IPPF, February 2017
What Chrissy Teigen Can Teach Us About Postpartum Depression, Huffington Post, 15 Mar 2017
Academic
The findings of medical research are disseminated too slowly, The Economist, 25 Mar 2017
“New Users” Are Confusing Our Counting: Reaching Consensus on How to Measure “Additional Users” of Family Planning, Global Health: Science and Practice, 24 Mar 2017
Excellent Family Planning Progress in Nigeria Reported by PMA2020, Global Health: Science and Practice, 24 Mar 2017
Youth Voucher Program in Madagascar Increases Access to Voluntary Family Planning and STI Services for Young People, Global Health: Science and Practice, 24 Mar 2017
Community Health Workers as Social Marketers of Injectable Contraceptives: A Case Study from Ethiopia, Global Health: Science and Practice, 24 Mar 2017
Comparing Women’s Contraceptive Preferences with Their Choices in 5 Urban Family Planning Clinics in Ghana, Global Health: Science and Practice, 24 Mar 2017
Women’s Limited Choice and Availability of Modern Contraception at Retail Outlets and Public-Sector Facilities in Luanda, Angola, 2012–2015, Global Health: Science and Practice, 24 Mar 2017
Male Involvement and Accommodation During Obstetric Emergencies in Rural Ghana: A Qualitative Analysis, International Perspectives on sexual and Reproductive Health, March 2017
Statement on the promotion, protection and fulfilment of sexual and reproductive health and rights, WHO, February 2017
How to Introduce and Scale Up Sayana Press (DMPA-SC in Uniject), Path, January 2017
Monitoring Sayana® Press Pilot Introduction, Path, January 2017
Consolidated guideline on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV, WHO, 2017
Botswana
Sick, stick abortion, Midweek Sun, 27 Mar 2017
DRC
Les troubles psychiques post abortion expliqués aux jeunes de Saint Gyavira, ACP, 29 Mar 2017
Ethiopia
Make the most of demographic dividend, Ethiopian Herald, 29 Mar 2017
U.S. Government Inaugurates New National Public Health Training Center, Addis Standard, 28 Mar 2017
What I’ve Learned as a Doctor in Ethiopia, Motto, 22 Mar 2017
Saving mothers’ lives (reducing maternal mortality) through integrated services, Ethiopia Rise , 1 Jan 2017 (ICYMI)
Ghana
Brong-Ahafo records 1,224 unsafe abortion cases in 2016, Ghana News Agency, 28 Mar 2017
Women in Ghana Pay a Heavy Social Price for Not Having Children, The Conversation, 27 Mar 2017
AmplifyChange funds 10,000 euro project in four regions, Ghana News Agency, 24 Mar 2017
Malawi
Catholic Church wary with Malawi baby boom bonanza, Nyasa Times, 30 Mar 2017
Mamaye campaign on maternal and newborn health phases out, Nyasa Times, 27 Mar 2017
Namibia
Unsafe abortions reach 7,000 mark, The Namibian, 28 Mar 2017
Health minister urges abortion debate, Namibian Sun, 28 Mar 2017
Nigeria
The ugly scars of female genital mutilation, Daily Trust, 31 Mar 2017
Abortion Counselor Confesses: After 5 Abortions, I Kept The 6th, PM News, 30 Mar 2017
Nigerian Girls’ Plight – Claims About Teen Marriage & Pregnancy Fact-Checked, Africa Check, 29 Mar 2017
Selective Laws against Nigerian Women Reproductive Rights, This Day, 23 Mar 2017
Somalia
More midwives graduate in Puntland, UNFPA, 20 Mar 2017
South Africa
Despatch – Hero Cop Goes Beyond the Call of Duty to Help a Pregnant Woman – By Delivering Her Baby, South Africa Police Service, 28 Mar 2017
Tanzania
Same District Leads in Student Pregnancies – Officer Says, Tanzania Daily News, 30 Mar 2017
Uganda
We are betraying young people by not talking about sexuality, Daily Monitor, 30 Mar 2017
Uganda’s Overburdened Midwives, Global Health Now, 27 Mar 2017
Absentee parents blamed for rising teenage pregnancy figures, New Vision, 24 Mar 2017
